Nailmasters and Vessels (Only active on AO3 now!)
by Awesomerus
Summary: When vessels show up at the Nailmasters' houses, they think they are regular children. When the chlidrens' pasts come to the surface, can they help them? Hollow Knight, Mato and Oro, and the locations belong to Team Cherry
1. Crystal Child

Crystal heard her feet hitting the stone under her feet. She didn't know if she was safe anymore. She shook her head, trying to stay away from the thoughts of the abyss and being thrown into the abyss by her father. The pain in her mask from the crack flared up as she face planted into the stone beneath her feet. Black tears fell down her face. She looked around, noticing a house hidden in a cavern. She thought to herself.

"Maybe that's a safe place? Hopefully nobody's there." She stepped into the house, being greeted by a large bug with a nail on their back. The bug was looking away from her. She took a step back. She tried to turn around to run out of the house, but fell to the ground, the pain in her mask getting worse. She heard the bug walk closer to her. She hoped the bug would leave and not hurt her. She hoped the bug wouldn't abandon her like her father for not being perfect. She felt the void inside her react harshly to that thought. She wanted to be cared about, but she was scared that whoever cared would leave once they realized she wasn't perfect. She figured the bug was like her father. She shakily signed.

"Please don't hurt me. I can be perfect. I can be hollow. Please don't throw me away. Please don't throw me in the abyss. Please don't leave me to die." She looked over as the bug sat down next to her, helping her to her feet. The bug spoke.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Did someone hurt you?" She nodded. The bug sighed. The bug spoke again. "Who hurt you?" Crystal signed.

"Father. He threw me into the abyss. I wasn't perfect. I thought too much. I expressed myself." She felt tears fall down her face, the bug handing her a tissue. The bug spoke.

"Who's your father, little one?" Crystal signed.

"Pale Crown." The bug pulled her into a hug and said something that surprised her.

"My brother, Oro, adopted a vessel that was also thrown into the abyss by the Pale King. I'm sorry for you've been through, little one." The bug gasped before saying another thing. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mato. What's your name, little one?" Crystal signed.

"My name is Crystal. What does the vessel Oro adopted look like?" Mato thought for a moment.

"He has three horns on the top of his head and two horns going up on the side of his head. He also had a crack going from the side of his mask to above his left eye socket from being thrown into the abyss. According to Oro, someone said something that triggered a sort of flashback to when he was thrown into the abyss." Crystal signed.

"I think I know him. Is his name Elisha? I thought he died! He was taken by father to the room where the 'failures' are discarded around three weeks before me. I thought he died. He was my friend. Since he's alive, he's still my friend. He's okay!" Mato nodded, speaking.

"His name is Elisha. What do you mean by 'failures', little one? Is that what your father called you?" Crystal nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She spoke.

"I don't understand why he called us failures. Were we bad? Did we mess up one too many times?" Mato shook his head.

"He called you and your siblings 'failures' because he failed as a parent. I'll make sure not to do that if you'd be okay having me as your dad." Crystal excitedly nodded. She signed something that made Mato's heart melt.

"I love you dad."


	2. Uncomfortable Memories at Oro's House

Oro looked over at Elisha, his child that he adopted one snowy night when he wandered into Oro's house, shivering and alone. Oro had quickly warmed up the child, wrapping a blanket around him. Oro shook his head, trying to focus on the present. Elisha ran up to Oro, trying to wrap his short arms around his father figure. They heard a knock at the door, Elisha letting go of Oro to let his dad open the door. Oro opened the door, revealing Hornet. Hornet stepped inside, noticing the small vessel tugging on Oro's cape. She crouched down after greeting Oro. She spoke, voiced laced with venom, looking up at Oro.

"Did the Pale King throw away another of my siblings? If I ever see him, I'm going to kill him!" Hornet noticed an all-too-familiar jerking motion from Elisha that she had seen from Ghost. She realized Elisha was crying. She spoke, trying to sound as comforting as she could. "Little one, are you okay? My anger wasn't directed at you, I assure you." Oro sat on the ground, hoping that Elisha would sit in his lap like he usually does, especially when he's upset. Oro became slightly concerned when Elisha didn't move. Oro spoke, hoping to figure out why Elisha was crying.

"Elisha, did something happen? Did the Pale King hurt you?" Oro heard Elisha's voice in his head. Oro figured Hornet probably did too, considering she looked for the source of the voice, before realizing it was Elisha.

"Wasn't good enough. Wasn't hollow. Wasn't perfect. Don't want to be thrown away. Have to be perfect. Hollow. Don't feel. Don't think. Have to be perfect. Maybe Father won't notice. Not perfect. Going to get thrown away. Don't hope. Must be hollow! Be hollow! Hollow! Please! Don't want to be thrown away! Have to be hollow. Become hollow. Need to be hollow. Don't want to be thrown away. I can be perfect! Father! Please don't throw me away! I can be hollow! Father, come back! Please! I can be hollow! I don't want to die! Come back! Come back! Please! Please... I'm falling! Father! Help! Don't want to die! Father! Come back! Hurts! Father! Please... Father... Mask hurts... Want hurt to stop... Father... Help... Scared..." Oro and Hornet watched and heard as Elisha fell deeper into his own thoughts, unable to escape the memory. Tears fell from Elisha's face. Oro grabbed Elisha's hands as his hands went to where his crack in his mask was, frantically trying to claw at it. Oro spoke, feeling a mix of horror and concern from watching his child try to hurt themselves due to a memory. Elisha was breathing fast, both Oro and Hornet were worried for him.

"Elisha, you're okay. You're okay. You're not there anymore. It isn't happening anymore. You're safe." Oro wrapped Elisha in a hug, rubbing circles into his back. Hornet stepped closer, also hugging Elisha. She spoke, worry for her sibling evident on her face.

"Elisha, you're out of that horrible place. You're okay. You're with Oro and me. He's gone now." Elisha's breathing slowed down slightly. Elisha stopped trying to claw at his crack in his mask, so Oro let go of his hands. Elisha quickly grabbed onto Oro like he was a lifeline. Oro spoke, wiping tears from his child's face.

"Elisha, I promise you, nothing like that will ever happen to you again as long as I'm around. If somebody tries hurting you, they'll have to get through me and my nail first, alright?" Elisha pointed at Hornet. Hornet nodded. Elisha nodded. Hornet and Oro heard Elisha's voice in their heads.

"Safe here. Hornet protect Elisha. Oro protect Elisha. Tired. Rest. Safe." He was completely silent for a bit. Oro and Hornet noticed the breathing pattern that Elisha had. Hornet looked at Oro and quietly spoke.

"That took a lot out of him didn't it? Hopefully, he'll feel better when he wakes up." Oro nodded, reaching for a blanket, only for Hornet to grab it and give it to him. Oro wrapped Elisha in the blanket, leaving only his head uncovered. Hornet headed towards the door. Oro waved goodbye. Hornet waved goodbye and left Oro's house. Oro looked down at Elisha, sleeping in his lap, and smiled. Oro spoke.

"You're safe with us, Elisha. You may not feel like it sometimes, but we'll do everything we can to protect you. If your lousy excuse of a father ever shows up, I won't let him get you. He'll have to go through me before he hurts you again."


	3. Elisha Meet Crystal, Crystal Meet Elisha

Elisha was sitting in Oro's lap, almost asleep until Oro spoke up.

"Elisha, my brother, Mato, will be visiting today. He's bringing a sibling of yours over. I think you and her will be happy to see each other." Oro heard Elisha's voice in his head.

"Sibling! Others!" Oro smiled and nodded. They heard a knock at the door. Elisha jumped up, letting Oro get the door. Oro opened the door, revealing a bug that looked very similar to him. Elisha noticed their sibling, being carried by the bug. He felt the void inside him frantically bubbling. He thought to himself, panicking.

"Sibling, no! Sibling not safe! Save sibling! Sibling going to get thrown away. No! Save sibling!" He immediately grabbed his nail, rushing towards the bug. Elisha watched as the bug set his sibling down on the floor, letting her run towards Elisha. Oro looked over at Elisha and spoke.

"Elisha, you're okay. Your sibling, Crystal, is also okay. Nobody's getting thrown away. It's okay. You're safe. Crystal's also safe." Oro sat down on the ground, letting Elisha sit in his lap. Crystal looked at Elisha and signed.

"Elisha! It's okay. We're safe." Crystal gave Elisha a hug. Elisha looked at Crystal, speaking through his thoughts.

"Crystal, you're okay? I thought you might have died…" Elisha hugged Crystal back, tears falling from his face. After a while, Elisha and Crystal were running around the house, chasing each other. Everyone in the room heard Elisha as he was practically screaming through his thoughts.

"Going to get you!" They then heard something that surprised them all. They heard Crystal as she spoke through her thoughts.

"No, you won't!" Elisha stopped chasing her as Mato called Crystal over. Mato spoke.

"Crystal, you can speak through your thoughts like Elisha?" Crystal nodded, signing.

"I can stop. I can be perfect. Please don't throw me away!" Mato shook his head, responding.

"Crystal, you're not in trouble. I won't throw you away, nobody will. You can speak through your thoughts all you want, alright?" What Crystal said next made him quite angry at the Pale King.

"I did before. Pale Crown said I wasn't perfect. I was supposed to have 'no voice to cry suffering'. I was supposed to have 'no mind to think'. He threw me away once he realized I could speak through my thoughts. It hurt. Landing hurt. My mask hurt. He closed the door. It was very dark and scary. Other siblings. Their masks were cracked too." Crystal's breath quickened. She reached up to the crack running down the middle of her mask. Oro looked over, taking his eyes off of Elisha for a second. He spoke, knowing what was about to happen. It had happened to Elisha about a week before the visit.

"Mato, grab her hands." Mato grabbed her hands just as she tried to claw at the crack in her mask, right in between her eyes, tears falling from her face. Elisha ran over to Crystal, wrapping his arms around her. He spoke, trying his best to not let his thoughts sound scared.

"Crystal safe. Elisha safe. No more Abyss. Crystal in Kingdom's Edge. Elisha in Kingdom's Edge. Mato protect Crystal. Elisha protect Crystal. Oro protect Crystal. Not happening now. Pale Crown's gone." Crystal's breathing slowed. She looked around a bit before she looked at Mato. He let go of her hands, Crystal reaching up and wiping tears off his face. Mato hugged Crystal. Crystal hugged him back, speaking in her thoughts.

"Dad okay?" Mato nodded. He spoke.

"Are you okay, Crystal?" He heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"Scared Pale Crown will come back. Scared Pale Crown will hurt Elisha. Scared Pale Crown will hurt Crystal." Mato spoke.

"I won't let him hurt you or Elisha ever again. He'll have to get through me before he does." Oro agreed. Oro and Mato heard both children speak in their thoughts.

"Tired." Mato and Oro smiled, creating a pillow fort for their children to sleep in. Elisha and Crystal crawled into the pillow fort. They all heard Crystal and Elisha speak through their thoughts.

"Goodnight!"


	4. You Get a Gift, You Get a Gift

Mato opened the door, revealing Oro, cradling Elisha. Crystal ran up to the group, tugging on Oro's arm. She spoke, Mato and Oro expecting her voice in their heads.

"Can Elisha play? Is Elisha okay?" Oro nodded, speaking.

"Elisha can play. He's okay, just taking a nap. I think the area was a bit boring to him on the way here." Mato chuckled a bit.

"Oro, the Howling Cliffs aren't exactly known to be very interesting." Oro nodded, sitting on the ground, readjusting Elisha slightly to make him more comfortable while he was sitting down. After a bit, Elisha woke up. He rubbed at his eyes a bit, then glanced around. He then spoke through his thoughts.

"Sibling Crystal! Uncle Mato!" Elisha then looked at Oro, silently asking permission to go play. Oro nodded, smiling at both Elisha and Crystal. Elisha jumped up from Oro's lap, then sprinted over to Crystal. They played for a bit. After a bit, Mato called both children over. Crystal and Elisha both walked over, tilting their heads. Mato handed them both a present, neatly wrapped.  
Crystal opened hers first, revealing a dark pink cloak. Elisha opened his after seeing what Crystal got. Elisha pulled out a similar cloak that was dark green. They quickly put the cloaks on. They both tried speaking at the same time, resulting in a jumble of the words 'dad' and 'uncle'. Mato and Oro chuckled a bit, resulting in Crystal and Elisha also laughing, albeit silently. Mato spoke.

"Try imagining yourself going forward when you're running around." Mato turned to Oro, who was looking at him with a slightly confused expression. Oro was about to speak, but was cut short when he saw Crystal and Elisha dashing after one another. They heard Crystal and Elisha's alternating voices speaking in their heads.

"Tag, you're it!"

"Now, you're it!"

They heard Crystal and Elisha giggling in their heads before both children plopped onto the pillows nearby, seemingly out of energy. Mato got cups of warm tea from the kitchen, handing them to the children. He was about to ask if they would even be able to drink the tea considering they didn't have mouths, hence their telepathic speech, but was cut short when he saw them put a hand into their cups of warm tea, the tea disappearing slowly afterward. Once all the tea was gone from their cups, he heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"Dad, that was good!" He then heard Elisha in his head, agreeing with Crystal. Mato figured Oro had also saw, considering he looked like if his mouth wasn't connected to his face, it would be on the floor. They heard both children speak in their heads.

"I'm hungry." Mato then made four grilled cheeses, handing one to each child, and one to Oro. Oro and Mato watched in awe as Crystal and Elisha both just absorbed their grilled cheeses into their bodies. They both spoke through their thoughts.

"That was good! What was that?" Mato responded, trying to process what he had just witnessed. Oro didn't respond, simply trying to process what he had just witnessed and make sense of it.

"That was a grilled cheese. If you both agree, we can have them more often." Mato heard both children agreeing in his head. They all proceeded to just relax for the rest of the day.


	5. Just a Bad Dream

Crystal looked around. All she saw was darkness, but then the Pale King was in front of her. She felt her breath quicken. She heard him speak.

"Finally, the perfect vessel. The purest of all of them." She noticed Elisha standing beside her. She watched as the Pale King grabbed Elisha and threw him into the darkness. She heard his panicked screams inside her head. She tried to move her arms, but realized she couldn't. She looked and noticed chains wrapped around her. She looked at the Pale King, silently pleading for him to explain what was going on. He spoke.

"You shall contain the infection." She felt a sharp burning feeling as she tried to contain it, it spilling out of her from her eyes. The Pale King simply watched, not even reacting when she started crying. She felt her mask and shell cracking and breaking as she failed to contain the infection. She felt her shell fall apart, the Pale King grabbing her and throwing her into the darkness once he realized she wasn't the perfect vessel. She saw Mato, she tried to walk towards him. She fell onto the ground, Mato turning around to face her. She finally said something through her thoughts, trying to keep from crying.

"Dad, help. Please. I'm scared. It hurts." Mato scoffed. He spoke.

"I don't have a child. You're just a vessel meant to contain the infection. You're the reason I lost so many friends and family to the infection. It isn't that hard to contain the infection. All you had to do was be perfect or at the very least, hollow." Crystal felt tears run down her face. Mato turned and walked away from her, leaving her completely alone in the darkness.

She woke up, tears running down her face. She tried to steady her breathing, but failed to because she was still crying. She unconsciously started clawing at the crack in her mask, trying to calm down. The pain gave her something to focus on instead of her thoughts. She heard shuffling feet, but was too scared to clearly think about who it could be. The light was turned on, revealing a rather concerned Mato. She heard Mato speak as he tried to gently guide her hands away from the crack in her mask.

"Crystal, it's okay. It was a bad dream." Mato grabbed a couple tissues from nearby, wiping the tears from Crystal's face. He spoke again after a bit. "Do you want to talk about it?" Crystal nodded, she started crying again as she spoke through her thoughts.

"I failed. I couldn't save him. I couldn't save him! I just watched! I didn't even try to stop Pale Crown! I wasn't perfect! I couldn't contain it! It hurt! It hurt and he just watched! He didn't even try to help! My shell broke…. Why did he put chains around me? Why didn't he try to help? He threw me into the darkness… You said that you didn't…. You didn't have a child... That I was just a vessel…. If I just contained the infection…. He was right for throwing me into the abyss… I wasn't perfect enough… If I just contained the infection, nobody would have gotten infected! It's my fault so many bugs are infected!" She was surprised to feel Mato wrap her in a hug. Mato spoke, tears falling from his face.

"He was in no way right for throwing you into the abyss. You're perfect the way you are. You are my child and nothing will ever change that. It's not your fault bugs are infected. He chose to throw you into the abyss because he's a lousy parent." Mato walked out of the room, coming back with a pillow and a blanket. Crystal was confused. Mato explained. "I brought my blanket and pillow from my room in here to hopefully help you sleep and make you feel safer." Mato heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"Thank you, Dad. I love you. Goodnight." Mato set his blanket and pillow on the floor next to Crystal's bed, quickly falling asleep, but not before telling Crystal one last thing before they both fell asleep.

"I love you too, Crystal."

Crystal woke up to a present next to her bed, Mato's bed still on the ground. She carefully opened the present, revealing a red bow. She quickly put it on one of her horns. She ran into the kitchen, revealing Mato, making pancakes. She spoke to him through her thoughts.

"Thank you for the ribbon, Dad." Mato turned to her and smiled.


	6. Self Defense

Oro looked over at Elisha, wondering if he should teach him to fight, or at the very least, be able to protect himself. Oro scolded himself, of course his child would need to protect himself! There were infected husks, great hoppers, and primal aspids, all of which could be very dangerous for a child who didn't know how to protect themselves. He wondered if the dash from the cloak Mato gave Elisha could be used in some way. He realized, at the very least, it could be good for transportation, at least faster than walking. He spoke.

"Elisha, can you please come over here for a second? I want to ask you something. You already have a nail, but I could give you a new one. I think I have some different nails around here somewhere." Elisha walked over, awaiting the question from his dad. Oro spoke. "Would you like to learn how to fight, or at the very least defend yourself? We can wait until later if you aren't ready." Elisha responded through his thoughts.

"Learn to fight, but no new nail. Thank you." Oro nodded, getting a nail made out of wood for himself and another for Elisha. He wanted to make sure nobody got hurt, especially his child.

Oro thought to himself, "I can heal easily from most wounds, but a small child will take longer to heal from a wound from a nail, possibly having a fatal wound. It'll be safer to use plywood nails until we both are around the same level, or at the very least, he can defend himself." He handed one of the plywood nails to Elisha. Oro explained.

"This is a plywood nail. It's pretty much a training nail to make sure nobody gets hurt while training." Oro held the other plywood nail, letting Elisha move his hand and rotate it to see how he needed to hold it. Once Elisha held the nail properly, Oro walked Elisha outside. There was more room outside for sparring. Oro spoke.

"Elisha, first I'll teach you how to block attacks, alright?" Elisha nodded. Oro explained to Elisha how to block attacks.  
"When the nail gets close to you, hit it away with your nail. You don't need to knock it out of their hand or anything, just away from your body will work." Elisha nodded, trying it once Oro demonstrated and let him know precisely when to block, pausing to do so. Once Elisha got that down, Oro stopped pausing and Elisha was still doing well. Oro spoke again.

"Now we'll move onto attacking. You can usually start with a horizontal slice, followed by a diagonal slice." Oro demonstrated, making sure to pause at the end of each slice, as well as make sure not to move too fast to let Elisha copy his movements. Elisha got it down after a couple times. Oro heard a familiar stomping sound from the other room. He quickly picked up Elisha. He heard Elisha speaking in his head, voice filled with concern.

"What's wrong? What's that sound?" Oro shook his head, running closer to the house before setting Elisha on the ground. He spoke.

"It's a Great Hopper. They can be very dangerous at times, so I recommend you go inside and let me handle it. I'll be inside the house soon." Elisha ran into the house, carefully watching from the safety of the house. He watched as a giant bug with six legs and an orange belly appeared. He quickly realized the bug had orange eyes. He wondered to himself why Mato, Crystal, Oro and himself didn't have orange eyes like the bug. He noticed Oro starting to slow down, his nail strikes getting less precise and occasionally shaking his head before focusing his attacks again.

Elisha felt like he had to protect his dad. He ran inside, trying to find a good nail to use. He knew the plywood nails wouldn't hurt anything, so he found a plain, steel nail. He quickly picked up the nail, rushing out to protect his dad. He came back to his dad collapsed on the ground, the great hopper still hopping around, just barely missing his dad. He ran towards his dad, trying to help him up. He spoke through his thoughts.

"Elisha help Dad. Elisha save Dad from Great Hopper." Oro looked at him, trying to mask his fear, concern and worry about his child getting hurt. Elisha noticed the Great Hopper trying to block the way to the house. Elisha looked at Oro, making his decision. He spoke through his thoughts.

"Elisha distract. Dad get to safety. Elisha come back safe. Promise." Oro shook his head, tears running down his face, his fears growing to be too much. He thought to himself, fearing for his child.

"If I couldn't beat that, just narrowly escaping, I don't think this is a good idea." Oro spoke.

"Elisha, no. I'll distract the Great Hopper and you get to the house. You get to safety." Elisha shook his head, running up to the Great Hopper. He struck the Great Hopper's legs, noticing his dad run inside the house from his peripheral vision. He saw Oro run back out, nail in hand. He then noticed the Great Hopper above his dad. He only had one thought going through his head.  
"Elisha save Dad." Elisha dashed over, ramming into his dad, throwing him out of the way of the Great Hopper. He heard his dad scream his name before the Great Hopper landed. Elisha spoke one final thing through his thoughts.

"I love you, Dad."


	7. Stains on the World

Elisha woke up at his bed. He shakily got off the bed, hearing a commotion outside, then silence, then someone crying. He felt hollow, but worse, like a core part of him was missing. He tried to remember what happened, but it made his head hurt, so he stopped. He ran outside, holding a nail he didn't remember picking up. He stopped once he saw his dad clutching a form (that looked way too similar to him for his liking) to his chest, sobbing. He looked around, noticing an almost black ghost with glowing white eyes that looked eerily similar to him. He noticed the ghost didn't have feet. He ran up to the ghost, slashing at the ghost until it turned into orbs of whatever it was made of. The orbs quickly merged with him. He quickly realized the hollow feeling left entirely. Then the memories of what happened hit him like a train.

He remembered the Great Hopper, his dad, running up to it, and saving his dad. He then remembered the feeling of his mask shattering from the impact of the Great Hopper crushing him. That was enough to send him face planting into the snow beneath his feet. He felt sick, like he was going to throw up. He heard his dad run to his side, probably trying to figure out how he was alive again. Elisha realized he didn't know either. He felt tears running down his face, falling onto the snow, staining it. He felt his dad wrap him in a hug. He heard his dad speaking and he tried his best to listen.

"Elisha? Elisha, please speak to me… Are you okay? I thought you died, but whatever happened, I'm glad to have you back. Elisha?" He turned his head to his dad, speaking through his thoughts.

"Tired…" He felt Oro pick him up, carefully examining his mask for further damage. He heard his dad exhale. He heard his dad speak again.

"Your mask is okay. I'm taking you inside, tucking you in and you're resting at least until tomorrow. We also are probably going to be training inside until all the Great Hoppers are gone." Elisha nodded, letting his dad tuck him in. Elisha spoke through his thoughts.

"I love you, Dad. I'm sorry. Didn't want to lose you. Goodnight." Oro gave him a gentle hug, telling him goodnight and he loved him. Oro went to his room and cried. He was terrified that he was going to lose his child when he saw the Great Hopper land on him, hearing his mask shatter and pulling his child close. He also remembered when the 'ghost' of his child came from his broken mask, that was equally terrifying to see.


	8. Everything Goes Wrong

Mato heard a knock at the door. Crystal hopped off his lap, letting him get up to open the door. She watched him open the door, revealing Oro, carrying Elisha, who was awake this time. Elisha noticed Crystal and promptly started struggling in Oro's grasp. Oro put Elisha on the ground, smiling. Elisha ran over to Crystal, speaking in his head, for all to hear.

"Crystal know that if Crystal dies, Crystal comes back?" Mato gave Oro a concerned, confused, and slightly angry look. Oro knew he had a lot of explaining to do. Oro went to explain before he heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"How do you know? Did you die?" Elisha was silent, before Oro heard his voice in his head.

"I died. Great Hopper. Hurt bad." Oro noticed Mato glaring at him (that he figured if looks could kill, he'd be dead). Oro started trying to explain, while Elisha explained more to Crystal.

"I was trying to teach Elisha how to defend himself and a Great Hopper jumped into the area around my house. He sacrificed himself to save me. The Great Hopper crushed him and shattered his mask. A sort of 'ghost' of him appeared from his mask. Next, he ran out of the house, completely fine! He attacked the 'ghost' and then he started crying." Mato nodded, calling Elisha over. Elisha walked over, Crystal following him. Mato spoke.

"Elisha, did you save my brother from a Great Hopper?" Elisha nodded, then responded through his thoughts.

"In trouble?" Mato shook his head, giving Elisha a hug. Mato spoke again.

"Thank you for saving my brother, Elisha." He felt Crystal tugging at his cape. He turned to Crystal. "Yes?" He heard Crystal speak in his head.

"Can Elisha play now?" Mato nodded, letting Elisha run off and play with Crystal. He heard Crystal speak in his head again. "Can we play outside?" Mato nodded, responding.

"Don't go too far away from the house." Crystal nodded. Elisha and Crystal walked out of the house. They explored around Howling Cliffs, making sure not to go too far from the house. Crystal and Elisha sat down on the ground, taking a short rest. A vengefly noticed them, seeing them as a small, easy meal. It dove at them, mandibles open, ready to kill.

Elisha noticed this. Crystal, however did not. Elisha nudged Crystal, trying to get her to move. Crystal noticed the urgency in his movements, quickly getting up and running the opposite way. Elisha stayed behind, trying to keep the vengefly from chasing his sister. After a bit, he ran in the direction Crystal had ran in. He didn't see her anywhere. He heard her voice in his head, sounding frightened.

"Elisha? I'm scared… I want to go home." He ran faster, dashing whenever he could, trying to get to Crystal faster. He clutched his nail tightly in his hand. He found a little area where it looked like someone had fallen through. He hopped down, noticing a figure, hiding in the corner. It was very dark in the area, so he couldn't make out a lot of the figures features, but he did see the crystal in her mask. He spoke through his thoughts.

"Crystal! Okay? Crystal go home. Elisha go home too." Crystal nodded, wiping tears from her face, taking a step. Elisha heard her mentally scream in pain as she collapsed onto the ground. He quickly rushed to her side. He hugged her, but she didn't hug him back. He started trying to mentally reach out to Oro or Mato. He practically screamed mentally in his thoughts. "Dad, help! Crystal's hurt!" He didn't know if he successfully reached out to Oro or Mato. They were pretty far from the house, he had only ever communicated through his thoughts at a short distance.

Mato and Oro were kind of suspicious because Elisha and Crystal were never this quiet unless they were asleep, and even then, they often had nightmares. It had been around 30 minutes since they had went outside. Mato walked outside, hoping to see Crystal and Elisha laying nearby, asleep. He didn't see them, so he looked around a bit more. He rushed back into the house, trying not to freak out. He got Oro's attention, then spoke. He started freaking out once he spoke, however.

"Oro, Crystal's gone! Elisha's also gone! I don't know where they are! What if something hurt them? What if they're lost?" Mato heard Oro speak.

"Mato, breathe! You panicking isn't going to help us find the kids! Focus on calming down, then we'll look for them." Mato breathed in, letting out a shaky exhale. They headed out to look for them. Mato looked around, noticing a dead vengefly on the ground. Mato pointed it out to Oro.

"You were teaching Elisha to defend himself, right? I think he's been here and probably Crystal too." Oro nodded. They split up because there were many ways to look still. Mato unknowingly ran in the direction that Crystal and Elisha ran in. Mato heard a faint voice in his head. It sounded like Elisha.

"Crystal, dad's coming. Don't worry." He then heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"My leg hurts bad. Do you think he'll be mad?" Mato felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. _His kid was hurt and all she cared about was whether or not he'd be mad?_ He ran around, shouting.

"Crystal, Elisha, if you can hear me, say something! I need to find you! I'm not mad. I'm actually more concerned than anything!" He heard Elisha in his head.

"Right above us. Please hurry. Crystal passed out." Mato noticed a hole in the ground. He looked closer and he could see Crystal and Elisha. Elisha was hugging Crystal, holding her to his chest. He reached down, letting Elisha hand Crystal to him. He carefully cradled Crystal. He carefully laid her on the ground, noticing what looked like tear streaks running down her mask, as well as a hairline fracture from her right eye to the crack running down the middle of her mask. He then helped Elisha out of the hole, who had tear streaks running down his face. Elisha broke into tears when he saw Crystal. He heard Elisha speak in his head.

"Crystal okay?" Mato spoke, not wanting to lie to Elisha, but not wanting to scare him.

"She'll be okay." He hoped he was telling the truth, he saw void leaking out of her mask and void leaking out of an injury to her leg. He heard footsteps. He turned around, on the verge of tears. Oro looked down at Crystal. He frowned, gently picking her up. They walked back to the house, silent except to answer questions from Elisha.


	9. Recovery

Mato watched as Oro set Crystal down on her bed. Mato quickly grabbed some bandages from one of the cabinets in the kitchen. He carefully wrapped her injured leg, he then glanced up at her mask. He grabbed a washcloth, getting it damp. He gently cleaned the dry void from her mask. He then wrapped around her eyes with the bandages. He then took off the bandages on her mask, making it where it was covering only her right eye and the crack. No more void was leaking from her mask, much to Mato's relief. He heard as Oro sat down next to him, followed by Elisha sitting on the other side of him. He felt his brother give him a quick hug, speaking.

"She'll be fine, Mato. She's strong." Elisha nodded, quickly dozing off. Mato scooped up Elisha into his lap, being careful not to wake him. Oro looked at Elisha, pointing out that he had faint tear stains on his mask. Mato wiped the tear stains off of Elisha's mask, turning to Oro.

"He's probably worried about her. They're siblings, raised by a lousy excuse for a father." Oro nodded, watching Crystal's breathing. Oro and Mato fell asleep quickly, sitting on the floor. Mato woke up a bit later to see Crystal sitting in her bed, staring at him. He quickly got up and gave her a hug, trying and failing to keep from crying. He felt Crystal patting his face while wrapping him in a hug using her other arm. He heard her voice in his head.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. It's okay." She turned to look at Elisha, who was just beginning to wake up. She spoke to him in her thoughts. "Elisha! I'm okay. Are you okay?" Elisha woke up more upon hearing her voice. He rushed over, trying to reach his sister while Mato was still giving her a hug. Mato released her from the hug, letting Elisha hug her. Elisha spoke through his thoughts, tears streaming down his face.

"Crystal okay? Sure? Mask cracked more." Crystal nodded, reaching up to feel the crack in her mask that Elisha was talking about. She felt a small, barely noticeable crack in her mask. Mato was starting to get concerned. He thought to himself. _How much more before their masks break? What'll happen to them? What if they can't defeat their shadows?_ Oro was worried about the same thing, but most of the time just tried to convince himself that they'd be fine. Mato decided that he would bring up the idea of taking them to the Mask Maker in Deepnest to see if they could fix their masks. He turned to Elisha and Crystal, calling them over. Crystal and Elisha looked at him, curiously awaiting what he had to say.

"Do you two want to go to the Mask Maker in Deepnest? He might be able to fix your masks. You two don't have to get them fixed. It's your choice. It's your life, mask, and body." Crystal and Elisha considered it for a moment, then nodded. Mato nodded, heading over to get supplies to go to Deepnest. He thought of teaching Crystal to defend herself before shaking his head. _She'll be fine. Elisha, Oro, and me will protect her. I'll teach her to protect herself if she wants when we get back._


	10. Dark Deepnest

Mato walked out the door, Crystal following shortly behind him. Oro and Elisha followed after Crystal. After a while, they reached Deepnest. Crystal didn't like it very much, she wasn't a big fan of the dark. She held onto Mato's cape with a vice grip. She felt him pick her up. He spoke, trying to calm her down.

"It's okay, Crystal. You're safe, nothing will happen to you." Crystal nodded, burying her face into Mato's fluffy collar. It blocked out the noises of the crawling weaverlings. She caught a glimpse of one, its orange eyes piercing into her, striking an unfamiliar amount of fear into her. She buried her face further into Mato's collar. She felt Mato rub circles into her back. After a bit, she fell asleep. She woke up after a bit, surprisingly asking to be put down to let her walk.

She noticed a figure in the shadows, they had horns sort of like hers and Elisha's horns. She felt hope fluttering in her chest. She spoke in her thoughts to the vessel.

"Sibling!" Mato and Oro were watching and comforting Elisha, making sure he didn't get hurt and trying to calm him down. He also didn't like Deepnest. Crystal ran off after the vessel, not noticing that it was leading her far away from Mato, Oro, and Elisha. She didn't notice the husks of dead bugs around an entrance to a dark and narrow tunnel. She followed the vessel, only stopping when she heard the slamming of doors behind her. She turned around, trying and failing to open the doors by hitting them. She turned around, proceeding to follow the vessel. She saw the vessel waiting in the middle of a room, standing on a raised section of the terrain. She looked at the ceiling, wondering what was there.

She felt fear encompass her, voidy tears falling down her face. She saw vessels suspended from the ceiling by black strings. She remembered the vessel in the center of the room. She turned to it, speaking through her thoughts.

"Sibling?" The vessel didn't respond at all. She knew something wasn't right. She took a step towards the vessel, even though every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run away. She heard a sickening crack as the vessel's neck snapped, turning upside down. She watched in horror as the figure revealed itself to be Nosk. It let out a roar, before turning to her. She hid in a small hole in the ground, hoping that the creature wouldn't be able to reach her. She heard the creature jumping and stomping, unable to reach her. She felt tears roll down her face, her breathing getting faster. She didn't want to die to this creature. She didn't want to end up like the other vessels in the room.

Mato noticed Crystal was being very quiet. He turned to see where she was, before he noticed she was gone. He turned to Oro, speaking.

"Oro, is Crystal over there?" Oro shook his head, scooping up Elisha into his arms. They started looking around for any signs of where she was. Mato quickly noticed very faint, almost unnoticeable footprints that matched Crystal's. There was another set of footprints of a vessel, matching Crystal's. Mato, Oro, and Elisha headed in that direction, hoping that Crystal was okay.

Mato heard the sound of something jumping and slamming into the ground furiously. He followed the footsteps, leading him to a narrow tunnel, blocked by doors made of spider webs. He turned to Oro, his face paling.

"Oro, Crystal's in danger. Terrible danger." Oro nodded, trying to find another way through to the room. He figured that the easiest way to get to Crystal would be to try to destroy the door. He slashed at the door, barely destroying any of the webbing. He turned to Mato, who grabbed his nail and started slashing the door. After a while, they destroyed the door. Elisha was holding onto Oro's cape. After they destroyed two more doors, they saw the room. Mato saw Nosk frantically jumping in a generalized area around the middle of the room. He heard Crystal's voice in his head.

"I don't want to die… Dad, please hurry and notice I'm gone… I'm scared… This thing traps vessels. I don't want to be its next victim…" Mato could hear the fear in her voice. Mato turned to Oro.

"Oro, I'll distract that creature. You get Crystal and take her to safety. If I don't come back, take care of Crystal for me." Oro nodded, trying not to let his worry show. Mato rushed forward, slashing the creature's legs. It turned towards him, Mato quickly getting out of the way. Mato watched as Oro grabbed Crystal, holding her close. He watched as he ran out of the room. Mato attacked Nosk a couple more times, trying to keep its attention on him. It worked. Mato was about to strike again, but was cut short when Nosk jumped into the air.

He felt Nosk's sharp legs stab into his exoskeleton. He let out a grunt as he struck Nosk. Nosk pushed its legs further into his exoskeleton as it prepared to jump. Mato got up, trying to ignore the searing pain as he moved. He rushed to the exit, rushing past the now broken doors. He heard Nosk let out a roar as he left. He carefully got a couple rooms further. He collapsed to the ground, the pain in his abdomen intensifying as he hit the ground. He felt exhausted. He thought about Crystal, Elisha, and Oro finding him, lying on the ground, possibly dead. He felt tears falling from his face. He heard quick footsteps as he lost consciousness.

He woke up in the hot spring. He looked around warily. He noticed Crystal and Elisha sleeping on the bench. He noticed faint tear stains on their masks. He then noticed Oro sitting on the ground, slumped, tears falling from his eyes. Mato carefully moved a bit, letting out a grunt of pain as he did so. Oro looked up, wiping the tears from his eyes. He smiled as he got up, rushing over to Mato's side. His smile fell when he looked at Mato's injury. He spoke.

"Are you okay? I found you in a pool of your own blood... Crystal and Elisha were terrified. I had to practically pry Crystal off of you, so I could move you. Honestly, I was scared you weren't going to make it… Do you think you'll be able to make it to the Mask Maker?" Mato spoke, his voice wavering.

"Aside from the injury, yeah. I don't think I'll be able to get to the Mask Maker, not without having to stop to rest more times than I would like." Oro nodded, speaking.

"Do you want to stay here and rest? I can take the kids to the Mask Maker." Mato shook his head. He slowly got up, Oro having to help him up a bit. Oro scooped Elisha and Crystal into his arms. They almost got to the Mask Maker when Oro noticed Mato becoming more sluggish. He spoke, concern for Mato evident in his voice.

"Do you need to rest? I don't think Crystal and Elisha would mind. Honestly, I need to rest myself." Mato nodded, sitting down on the ground. Oro sat down on the ground next to him, Crystal and Elisha waking up and jumping out of his lap. Oro turned to them, speaking, sounding stern.

"Stay near us." Crystal and Elisha opted to sit down near Mato. Crystal started patting Mato, who turned to look at her. He heard her voice in his head.

"Okay?" Mato nodded, responding.

"Just tired." Crystal nodded, covering herself in his cape before dozing off. After a while, they got up and continued to the Mask Maker. Mato poked his head in, noticing a spider-like figure wearing a mask. The figure turned to him. He heard the figure speak.

"I am the Mask Maker. I see you have vessels with you, in desperate need of having their masks fixed." Mato nodded, correcting the Mask Maker.  
"They're not just vessels, they're our children." The Mask Maker nodded, starting to work on the solution that he would put on their masks to seal the cracks and breaks. The Mask Maker noticed the crystal in Crystal's mask. The Mask Maker spoke.

"I can completely fix their masks, including removing the crystal for a price." Mato nodded and spoke.

"How much will it cost?" The Mask Maker thought for a moment before speaking.

"1000 geo, 500 geo each." Mato agreed, handing the Mask Maker 1000 geo. The Mask Maker asked what the children's names were. Mato responded.  
"The one with the crystal in her mask is Crystal, and the other one is Elisha." The Mask Maker nodded, calling Crystal over. He carefully explained what he would do. Crystal sat down on the table, the Mask Maker carefully removing the crystal and putting the solution onto the cracks in her mask. It dried extremely quickly. Crystal hopped off the table, Elisha walking over to the Mask Maker. He got on the table, letting the Mask Maker fix his mask. He got off the table, running back to Mato, Oro, and Crystal. They left the Mask Maker's den and headed home.


	11. Ram and Hunter in Greenpath

Ram took a step forward, quickly noticing the shift from the Forgotten Crossroads to a greener area. He could barely see the dirt through the grass! He continued forward, entering Greenpath. Forgotten Crossroads didn't have too many things to hunt, let alone eat. He didn't really like the Gruzzers, they flew away and were annoying to hunt. He did like the taste of tiktiks, however. He ate them raw, unable to cook them. It tasted good, however, there weren't enough tiktiks in the Forgotten Crossroads to actually be a livable place. He wasn't too sure what was above the Forgotten Crossroads, nor did he want to. His main concern was the residents would either be infected like other bugs, or try to fight him even if they weren't.

He quickly spotted a mossy creature, whom he attacked, wanting to have something to eat. His stomach growled as it fell to the ground. He grabbed it, absorbing it into his body. He noticed movement in the bushes around him. He positioned his nail to strike, awaiting an attack. He lowered his nail upon seeing a white mask peek out of the bushes. They were trembling. He ushered them out of the bushes, quickly noticing void dripping off of their leg and from a giant crack in their mask. He pointed at their leg, to which they responded telepathically. It didn't take him long to figure out where the crack in their mask came from, the same way he got his.

"Hurt. Grass creature. Big. Many arms." Ram nodded, grabbing their hand. They spoke again.

"Hunter. He. Your name?" Ram nodded, responding telepathically, remembering his father wasn't around to tell him what a mistake he was.

"Ram. He. Hot spring? Bench?" Hunter responded.

"Bench." Hunter nodded, leading Hunter to a close-by bench in Greenpath. Hunter sat down, gesturing for Ram to sit too. Ram sat down next to Hunter. After a nap, they both headed deeper into Greenpath together. Ram saw a tiktik, he knew it wasn't much, but he heard Hunter's stomach growl, as well as his. He quickly killed it with his nail, cutting it in half. Almost. He cut it where Hunter would get more than him. He handed the bigger piece to Hunter, who spoke telepathically.

"You? Hungry? Need food?" Hunter tried giving the bigger piece to Ram, who refused to take it, insisting he had to eat the bigger piece. Hunter ate the bigger piece, hoping that Ram ate enough. After a while, they came to a thorny section of Greenpath. They carefully got through, coming upon a hut in the thorns. They needed shelter, so they headed in. They saw a strong-looking bug painting on an easel. The bug turned around.


	12. Ram, Hunter, and Sheo

Ram motioned for Hunter to get behind him. Hunter did as told, getting behind Ram. The bug softly chuckled before speaking.

"It's okay, little ones. I won't hurt you." Ram took a cautionary step forward, pointing his nail at the bug. He lowered his nail as Hunter warily walked towards the bug. Ram was confused when the bug simply patted Hunter on the head. Ram took a step forward, the bug doing the same to him. The bug spoke again.

"My name's Sheo. What are your names?" Hunter was the first to respond telepathically.

"Hunter. He." Sheo nodded, turning to Ram. Ram telepathically spoke.

"Ram. He." Sheo nodded. He then spoke.

"Have you two ate yet?" Ram and Hunter responded telepathically.

"Could eat." Sheo nodded, making three sandwiches. He handed one to Ram and one to one to Hunter. They absorbed their sandwiches into their bodies. Sheo spoke after they finished eating.

"My brothers, Mato and Oro, adopted vessels. Would you two like to stay here with me?" Ram and Hunter nodded excitedly. Ram spoke telepathically to Sheo.

"Sheo dad? Dad? Dad no hurt? Dad no throw away?" Sheo figured that like Crystal and Elisha, they would have suffered at their father's hands. Sheo nodded, speaking as he did so.  
"No one will hurt you as long as I'm around. No one will throw you away either. Feel free to call me 'Dad' if you want, you don't have to." Ram and Hunter spoke loudly in their thoughts.

"Dad Sheo! Dad Sheo! Sheo Dad! Best Dad!" Sheo chuckled, wrapping them a blanket. Sheo looked at them, speaking.

"It's almost night time, so we're going to sleep soon." Ram and Hunter quickly dozed off, leaving Sheo with his thoughts. Sheo wondered to himself. _How could the Pale King do something like this to children?! His children?! They're no longer his children, not if we find them! _ After a bit, Sheo dozed off.


	13. Mato?

Oro turned to Mato, whom was watching Crystal and Elisha run around, chasing each other. Oro spoke.

"Mato, Sheo's coming over. He adopted children of his own." Mato nodded, speaking.

"PK?" They had to use a nickname for the Pale King around Crystal and Elisha to avoid causing them distress. Oro nodded, frowning. Mato heard a knock at the door. He got up, opening it. He spoke, seeing the vessels sleeping in Sheo's arms.

"Come inside, brother. It's chilly outside." Sheo nodded, walking inside the house. He sat down next to Oro, adjusting Ram and Hunter slightly to make them more comfortable without waking them. Crystal and Elisha stopped chasing each other to walk over to Sheo. Mato looked at them, noticing the worry and fear in their body language. Mato spoke.

"Crystal, Elisha, it's okay. It's my brother, your siblings are okay." Crystal and Elisha nodded, staying close by to give their siblings a warm welcome once they woke up. Hunter and Ram woke up shortly, glancing over to Crystal and Elisha. Everyone heard Ram and Hunter's voices in their heads.

"Sibling?" Crystal and Elisha nodded, responding for everyone to hear.

"Sibling safe." Hunter and Ram jumped out of Sheo's lap to explore the unfamiliar house. Crystal spoke.

"Play tag?" Hunter and Ram tilted their heads, curious as to what it was. Crystal spoke again.

"Elisha help demonstrate tag?" Elisha nodded, running over and tapping Crystal on the shoulder. Elisha yelled as he did so.

"Tag, you're it! Crystal it!" Elisha then ran away from Crystal, Crystal chasing him. Crystal turned to Hunter and Ram who took off running after Elisha. After a bit of tag, they were all tired. Mato cooked them grilled cheeses, along with three for himself, Oro, and Sheo. They all ate their grilled cheeses, before Mato ended up watching everyone take naps. He nodded off after a bit as well. Mato awoke, wistful to save the remaining children from the Pale King. He got a piece of paper, writing messily on the paper. He sat the paper on the table. He headed out the door, careful not to wake anyone.

Oro awoke, feeling an incisive feeling that something was amiss. He looked to where Mato had been sleeping, to see no one. He got up, noticing the paper on the table. He quickly skimmed the contents of the letter. He tersely yelled at Sheo, fear biting at his insides.

"Sheo, get up! We have to save our brother from getting himself in serious trouble, or worse, killed!" Sheo groggily got up, looking at the children, whom were surprisingly, still asleep. Sheo turned to Oro, speaking.

"What about the kids, Oro?" Oro looked to the children, then Sheo. Oro spoke, his voice stern.

"You're watching the kids. I'll go save our brother." Sheo watched as Oro left the house, heading into the unknown. He glanced to the kids, whom were blissfully unaware of the dire situation. Sheo felt a tear fall down his cheek, fear and concern for his brothers' wellbeing biting at him.


	14. Painting Mysteries

Sheo painted on a blank tablet gently. It was a good distraction from the situation at hand. He watched as the tablet moved a bit, wobbling on the makeshift stand. He glanced down, noticing Crystal poking where he had painted previously. He chuckled a bit. He spoke softly, his gruff voice sounding calm.

"Crystal, do you wish to paint?" Crystal nodded enthusiastically, prompting Sheo to chuckle. He handed the paint brush to Crystal. He spoke again, Crystal's excitement rubbing off on him.

"Dip it in a color of your choice, then strike the tablet with color!" Elisha, Ram, and Hunter walked over, wondering what the ruckus was about. They watched as Crystal painted the bow that Mato had gifted her after her nightmare, the red as vibrant as the fire at Oro's hut. Sheo heard Elisha speak in his head, curiosity evident in the young child's voice.

"Elisha paint! Want to paint! Elisha want to paint!" Crystal handed Elisha the brush. Elisha ran over to the tablet, quickly drawing a crude drawing of Oro. Sheo chuckled softly. He gruffly spoke.

"Young Elisha, that is a very good drawing of my brother!" Elisha handed the brush to Ram, who looked at it curiously, before sprinting over to the tablet. He quickly drew a picture of Hunter. Hunter beamed at the picture as he saw it. He realized that it would be hard to notice considering his mask, so he opted to take something out of his voidy body. He handed it to Ram, who looked at the item. The small piece of fabric was quickly tucked into Ram's void body. Ram handed the brush to Hunter, who ran over to the tablet, quickly painting a picture of a sibling that Sheo hadn't seen before.

The vessel had curved horns, forking at the ends. They didn't have any side horns, unlike the siblings that Sheo and his brothers adopted. Sheo spoke.

"Who is that, Hunter?" Hunter looked to Sheo, speaking in Sheo's mind.

"Sibling. Thrown away. Name. Don't know." Sheo realized the children were starting to doze off. He wondered to himself how Mato and Oro were doing. He hoped Oro had found Mato and was bringing him back safe.


	15. Too Late?

Oro was starting to become extremely disconcerted due to Mato's disappearance. He had read the note, or rather skimmed it. He knew enough. Mato was heading to save the children from the abhorrent king. He was hoping that he would be able to find Mato before he found the king. He heard a brusque grunt that sounded familiar. He ran in the direction of the grunts, stumbling across Mato. Oro spoke tersely, balking at how far Mato had gotten from the house.

"Mato! I finally found you! Do you have any idea what you're doing?! You might end up fighting the king! Do you _really_ think going alone to save the children is a good idea?" Oro then watched as Mato collapsed, falling to the ground, face-first. He ran over to Mato, shaking him, fear biting at his insides. He was practically screaming, tears streaming down his face, falling onto the dark rocks below them.

"Mato, come on! Wake up! Please! Please don't be dead!" He noticed Mato's breathing was very shallow. He let out a sigh, sitting down next to Mato. He spoke, his usually terse voice, soft and filled with concern.

"Don't worry, I've got you bro. We'll be okay." Oro felt tears roll down his face.


	16. The Rescue

Oro sat next to Mato, wondering why he fainted and when he'd wake up. He heard a terse grunt from beside him. He looked at Mato, watching his eyes open. Oro was shocked to see Mato recover so quickly, before realizing he still needed to figure out why he fainted. He spoke, extremely candid.

"Mato, do you know why you fainted?" Mato responded, becoming quite abashed as he realized his mistake.

"I forgot to pack food." Oro was bewildered by this mistake. _How could he forget food?!_ Oro face-palmed, letting out a sigh. He looked around, noticing a dark bug crawling on the walls nearby. It didn't really seem to even notice or acknowledge the two Nailmasters. Oro got to his feet, grasping his nail in one hand, rushing the bug. He skewered the bug on his nail, pulling the bug away from the wall. He carefully pulled the bug off of his nail, wanting to preserve as much of the meat as possible.

He looked to Mato, walking over to him. He handed the bug to him, speaking sternly.

"Eat it." Mato quickly shoved the bug in his mouth. He quickly ate the bug, before speaking to Oro.

"That tasted pretty bad." Oro responded.

"It doesn't matter. You needed to eat." Mato nodded, acknowledging the fact that Oro was right. Mato got up, quickly looking around. He spoke candidly and somewhat tersely.

"We have children to save." Oro nodded, hoping that Mato got enough to eat. They walked around for a bit, discovering a path leading down. They followed the path coming across a large door. Mato struck the door with his nail, leaving a dent in the door. He struck again, this time where the door was attached to the wall of the area. Oro joined in, attacking the other side of the door.

After a while, the door fell to the ground away from them, landing with a great thud. Mato looked inside, barely making out figures in the vast darkness. They had horns, some had side horns, others didn't have side horns. Oro looked into the darkness, seeing all the children. He looked at Mato, his voice sounding choleric.

"Well? Are we going to save the children, or are we just going to stand here?" Mato shook his head, walking into the darkness. Oro followed him, taking a quick look around. He noticed wispy threads of what looked like what made up their children's bodies. He touched one of the threads, curiosity getting the better of him. He noted that it felt cold, icy even. He pulled his hand back, grimacing. Mato looked at him curiously. He then looked at the wisps of black in the air. He went to touch one before being stopped by Oro. Oro spoke, voice terse and candid.

"Don't touch that! It's like ice!" Mato responded.

"Is that why you were shaking your hand?" Oro nodded, slightly abashed. They then hopped onto the platform below them to get a better look at the figures in the darkness. They noticed the figures were watching them fearfully, but also a little curiously. Mato crouched down, wanting to look less intimidating. Oro followed suit, crouching down. Mato spoke softly, his voice sounding belligerent.

"It's okay, little ones. We won't hurt you. We're here to save you." He heard fifteen voices in his head, filled with fear, hope, longing, happiness, among other feelings.

"Save? Not hurt? Hurt? No? No hurt!" He watched as a child with curved horns that forked at the end and no side horns stepped forth. He heard the child shush the others to speak.

"Come with. Promise not to hurt?" Mato nodded. The child then pointed to Oro. Oro nodded. Mato then heard the child speak again in his head, to the other children.

"Come on. Siblings will be safe. I go. Come with?" Mato watched in a mixture of awe, blithe, and bewilderment as all of the children agreed with the child. The child got all of the children to follow, quickly reaching Mato and Oro. Mato and Oro helped the children get back up to where the entrance was. Mato and Oro got up to where the children were, leading them out of the area. All the children covered their eyes, uncovering them after a couple minutes. Mato and Oro lead the children back to Mato's hut in Howling Cliffs. They opened the door to reveal Sheo and Crystal painting, and Elisha, Hunter, and Ram playing tag. Sheo looked at Mato and Oro, then the children they had brought with them.

Sheo walked over, giving Mato and Oro hugs, tears streaming down his face. He then turned to the children, giving them permission to go play with the others. Mato and Oro told Sheo about rescuing the children, and finding them. Oro then told Sheo about how Mato forgot food for the trip. Mato glared at Oro, who was chuckling along with Sheo. They watched the children play, and eat. Sheo, Oro, and Mato then tucked the children into bed. They then also went to take a nap, knowing that they were probably going to be up all night helping their children through nightmares.


	17. Acid Accident

Mato looked at his eight children. There was Crystal, Ghost, Sigil, Lina, Shel, Rinka, Pin, and Nata. He spoke, his children turning to look at him, their heads tilted.

"Today, I thought we could all head to Sheo's to let you all play with more of your siblings." All of his children starting jumping up and down excitedly. He heard Crystal's voice in his head, her voice easily conveying how happy she was.

"We're visiting Sheo! I can see Elisha again!" Mato nodded, getting all of the children in a straight line to make it safer for them to follow him through Howling Cliffs, all the way to Greenpath. They followed him out of the house, watching in awe as he easily struck down any bug that dared threaten him or his kids. They quickly got to the Forgotten Crossroads. Mato carefully led them to Greenpath. He made sure nobody got too close to the acid. He got the group around halfway to Sheo's hut. Sheo had made it easier to get to his hut, knowing that he would have visitors often. Mato turned to Crystal, watching her play tag with Nata. He realized they were too close to the edge. They were practically standing on the edge sometimes. He called for Nata and Crystal to get closer to him as he saw a Mosscreep walking around. Sure, he could handle it, but he cared about his kids' safety more than showing off his strength. Nata ran over to him, Crystal lagging behind.

He watched in horror as the Mosscreep bumped into Crystal, knocking her off balance. She futilely reached out to him as she fell into the acid. He rushed over, hearing the acid bubbling as it started trying to dissolve her. He instinctively reached out, grabbing her, doing his best to ignore the burning feeling as the acid starting burning his arm, trying to dissolve it. He pulled out of the acid, cradling her to his chest. He seemed to be asleep, but he knew she wasn't napping. He got up, hurrying in the direction of Sheo's hut, his children following. He barged into Sheo's house. Sheo turned around, his face belligerent until his eyes fell upon Mato and Crystal, cradled in his arms. Mato felt tears falling down his face. He spoke, his voice filled with urgency and worry.

"Sheo, please help! I don't know what to do! She fell into the acid! What do I do?" Sheo spoke, voice steady and calm, trying to help Mato calm down.

"Mato, hand her here. I know what to do about the acid burns from the acid around Greenpath." Mato quickly handed Crystal to Sheo, tears streaming down Mato's face. Mato got a good look at her. The left side of her mask was completely corroded, exposing her shade. He saw acid burns littering her small body. He grimaced, wondering how he could have let this happen. He came back to reality just as Sheo was finishing flushing her burns with water. He watched as Sheo grabbed a sponge, getting it damp with soapy water. He noticed Crystal's shirt laying in a pile, soaked. He thought to himself.

"I'll have to get her a new shirt." He heard Sheo call him over, quickly walking over to him. He noticed his children were now playing with Sheo's children. Sheo handed him a shirt. He then spoke, noticing Mato giving him a bemused look.

"She won't be able to wear that shirt anymore, it's completely drenched in acid." Mato nodded, going to put the shirt on Crystal, before being stopped by Sheo. Sheo spoke.

"I have to bandage her burns first, Mato. Then, you can put her new shirt on." Mato nodded, watching him bandage her up. Sheo bandaged her up, making sure she could still move once she woke up. After a couple hours, she woke up. Mato felt relief flood through him. His relief was cut short when he heard Crystal cough and she covered her eyes. She kept coughing. He watched in concern and worry as a black substance came from her mask, in between her hands. It pooled in front of her on the bed. He heard her voice filled with fear in his head.

"Dad, I'm scared. It hurts! My eyes hurt a lot... Dad, where are you? I hear my siblings. They sound like they're having fun. That's good." Mato watched as she shivered, quickly wrapping her in a blanket. He spoke, voice calm and soft.

"You fell in the acid in Greenpath. Can Sheo rinse your eyes with water?" Crystal uncovered her eyes to let Sheo flush her eyes. She blinked a couple times, turning to Mato. He spoke.

"Crystal, can you see?" Crystal spoke, her voice in his head.

"Everything's kind of blurry." Mato let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Sheo spoke.

"Mato, you and your children can sleep here tonight. It's fine with me." Mato nodded, excusing himself to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Soon, he was weeping. He heard a knock at the door. He heard Sheo's voice.

"Are you okay?" Mato opened the door. Sheo looked at him, getting a tissue and handing it to him. Sheo gave him a hug, patting him on the back. Sheo spoke again.

"I'm here for you if you need anything." Mato hugged him back, sobbing. He spoke through sobs.

"Thank you, Sheo."


	18. Sheo, the Grubsitter (of 18 Children)

Mato looked over to Crystal, sleeping on the bed in Sheo's living room. He watched all of Crystal's siblings running after each other. Oro had brought his children over to Sheo's hut. He watched as she woke up, and glanced over at her siblings. She then turned her attention to him, projecting her most frequent thought to him.

"Am I ever going to be able to play with them again?" He sat down next to her, careful to give her some space. He turned to her, wiping tears from her face. He spoke, his voice benevolent.

"You will, Crystal. I promise. Do you want to go get your mask fixed at the Mask Maker in Deepnest, or no?" Crystal shook her head. She then spoke in his head.

"I don't want to deal with that _thing_ again. I don't like it. It scared me. It still scares me." Mato nodded understandingly. He spoke.

"It's okay to be scared, Crystal. We won't go until you're ready." Crystal wrapped her arms around Mato in a hug. He then had a brief look of realization on his face. He then spoke, hoping that his temporary solution would work.

"Would you go if Oro came with us?" Crystal thought for a moment before nodding. Mato yelled in Oro's direction.

"Oro, please come over here!" Oro came over, a look of irritation on his face. He spoke, letting out a huff.

"What?" Mato spoke, slightly abashed.

"I was wondering if you would come with Crystal and me to go to the Mask Maker?" Oro nodded. Oro turned to Sheo. A look of realization crossed Sheo's face before Oro could speak. Sheo spoke.

"I'm the grubsitter, aren't I?" Oro nodded, Mato chuckling slightly. Mato and Oro headed out the door, Crystal in tow. Sheo looked at all eighteen of Crystal's siblings. He silently pondered to himself if he could get Oro or Mato to pay him for watching this many children on such short notice.


End file.
